42 killed by rebel fighters in Balochistan, Pakistan military says
42 killed by rebel fighters in Balochistan, Pakistan military says
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Rebel fighters in southwestern Pakistan have killed 18 police officers and 11 soldiers in separate attacks, Al Jazeera reported.
The latest attacks, which unfolded in the province of Balochistan, have brought the death toll since Monday to 42 people, military spokesperson Lieutenant General Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry told a televised news conference Wednesday.
Pakistan has been battling a separatist uprising for years in Balochistan, which is the country’s largest, but least populated, province bordering Afghanistan and Iran.
The strikes came after Pakistani security forces killed 29 fighters along the Afghan border in late June, following an assault on a Karachi paramilitary compound for which the Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility.
The Afghan Taliban government disputed that those targeted were fighters, however, and said the Pakistani operation killed at least 36 civilians and wounded 163 others.
Islamabad has also accused neighbour and rival India of backing the BLA without evidence. India says it does not support Pakistan’s rebel groups.
In January, Pakistan’s security forces killed at least 41 armed fighters it charged had links to India.
